baldursgatefandomcom-20200223-history
Sirine Queen
|allegiance = Neutral |missable = |organization = |racial_enemy = |movement_speed = |area = Northern Isle of Balduran (AR1500 188.1257) |relationships = |quests = Evalt's Missing Brother |level = 11 |hit_points = 80 |strength = 18 |dexterity = 19 |constitution = 12 |intelligence = 18 |wisdom = 18 |charisma = 12 |total_scores = 97 |luck = |weapon_proficiencies = +++++ Bow |no_of_attacks = 3 |thac0 = 10 |morale = 15 |breaking_point = 5 |recovery_time = 20 |thieving_skills = |natural_ac = |effective_ac = -4 |s_v_death = 5 |s_v_wand = 6 |s_v_polymorph = 6 |breath = 5 |s_v_spell = 8 |fire = 20 |magical_fire = 60 |cold = 20 |magical_cold = 60 |electricity = 20 |acid = 20 |magic = 30 |slashing = 5 |crushing = 5 |piercing = 5 |missile = 5 |spells_abilities = *Dire Charm *Minor Globe of InvulnerabilityN1 |effects = |special = |ai_scripts = *INITDLG.bcs (override) *SHOUT.bcs (class) *SIRSPELL.bcs (race) *WTARSGT.bcs (default) |xp_value = 6000 |gold = 308 |items = *Pearl Necklace *Composite Longbow * Melee attack *Arrow of Biting *Arrow of Biting *Pearl *Pearl *Evan's Body ('''no' PP in EE)'' |reputation_kill = None |voice_actor = |appears_in = BG:TotSC, BG:EE |creature_code = ISLSIR.cre |store_code = }} The sirine queen is the head of the sirines on the northern Isle of Balduran in Tales of the Sword Coast. If the party has accepted Evalt's quest to search for his brother, she will stop them when they are taking the sandy path around the northwestern lagoon. Biography Like many of her kin, the sirine queen does not think much of land-dwellers and their ability to understand a sirine's nature, yet she too needs human males for mating. At the time, Gorion's Ward reaches the Isle of Balduran, it actually was the sirine queen's time to mate, and she did what she always does in this case: luring a man to her by singing her song. Usually both parties benefit from the exchange and most males are happy to oblige, but this time the lured fisherman attacked the queen and tried to force himself upon her.ISLSIR.dlg, state 4: "I doubt that you would understand. Nevertheless, I will attempt to explain. I am a sirine, and as such must mate with a human male. My song lures them to me and the males are most happy to oblige. Normally, both parties will benefit from the exchange. It is my time to mate so I lured this fisherman to me. He attacked me and tried to force himself upon me. When my song no longer affected him, I took more drastic measures. This monster deserved to die. Perhaps even land-dwellers can understand that." Involvement Gorion's Ward learns about "a witch" on the isle, the "Blue Lady", if listening to Evalt, one of the inhabitants from the village. Every fisherman there knows her singing, but Evalt's brother Evan seemed to be attracted to her the most. Since Evan is missing for two nights nowEvalt's dialogue, state 6: "… My brother left village two nights ago and has not returned. …", Evalt thinks his brother was charmed by the witch and fears for his life. The party can offerEvalt's dialogue, response 14: "Tell me where this witch is and I shall try to find her." to look for him. Evalt's missing brother When passing the northwestern lagoon of the northern part of the isle in search for Evalt's missing brother, a blue lady, holding a human body, will stop the party on the westernmost broadening of the sandy path and ask who gave them permission to approach her home. During this exchange and depending on the party's attitude towards the sirine queen and her deeds, she may explain herself or feel forced to use violence against them. The same is true for negotiating the delivery of that dead fisherman – Evan, the brother Evalt feared for. If it comes to a fight, the queen will be backed by four of her kin, two of whom appear at the southern end of the path and two in its north. In either case, the party will end up with the body in their inventory or be able to take it from the sirine queen's remains. Moral considerations The first question that arises would be to decide if "happy to oblige" and "benefit" for "both parties" can be considered true for a male being that was lured into the situation with magic – is this that much different from his own attempt to "force himself upon" the queen? General interaction, point of view and behavior of sirines and "land-dwellers" towards each other could be considered, too. The whole conversation between the sirine queen and the party is heated, though she shows a little more patience towards them than sirines usually do. The majority of more or less derogative terms comes from the party, such as "your foul magic"ISLSIR.dlg, response 0, 19: "… We have come to retrieve a fisherman named Evan, whom you have lured here with your foul magic." or "blue-skinned wench",ISLSIR.dlg, response 7: "The evidence of your foul play lies on the rocks beside you, blue-skinned wench. You will pay for your crimes." together with general accusations of lying and murder – opposed to the claimed self-defense on the side of the queen, paired with calling Evan a "beast"ISLSIR.dlg, state 1: "You are not of his kind, why do you care about this beast?" and a "monster".ISLSIR.dlg, state 3: "You accuse me of foul play? I fought to defend myself from this monster. I will defend myself from you if need be." Regarding alignment of involved parties: the sirine queen is true neutral, while Evalt – the brother of the dead fisherman and quest giver, the one on whose behalf this conversation happens at all – is a chaotic good character. Nothing, however, is known about Evan himself. Some additional, minor details: Evalt's not interested in the way the party retrieved his brother's body (read: there is no dialogue option to tell him), and the sirine queen shows feelings of solitude after having killed her proposed mating partner.ISLSIR.dlg, state 2: "I will no longer consort with such as you. Leave me to my solitude." Also, while speaking with her, for each choice there are always two options that will end in a battle with the sirine, opposed to only one diplomatic option each. Finally, the sirine queen never reveals her status as a "queen" and describes herself simply as a "sirine". Practical considerations Regarding gained experience and material values, the difference between the two possible paths of solving this situation is quite big: 14,000 XP from defeating four sirines and their queen – together with , several weapons, arrows of biting, a number of pearls and a necklace made out of them –, opposed to solely 2,000 XP from retrieving the body diplomatically. It's not possible to explain the chosen method to Evalt, so his reward will always be the same: 900 XP. Combat Sirine}} The queen's stats make her very distinguishable from common sirines and truly a queen, only on a par with Meiala at Durlag's Tower: *Higher dexterity and the fact that she's using a composite long- rather than a shortbow, improves her already lower ranged THAC0 to an effective 3, compared with 7 from a sirine. *Her chance of hitting her target in melee is also improved by 1. *She has two attacks more per round than her folk. *Damage-wise, she will deal 2 more points than a common sirine for both, with her bow and in melee. *She has an exceptionally low effective armor class of -8, while sirines usually only have +6. *In addition, she's at a rate of 5% resistant to all physical damage. *Her elemental damage resistances, however, can't compete with those of her kin, being only at 20%, compared to their 50%. *Instead, the queen has an improved resistance against magical elemental damage of 60% and an additional general magic resistance of 30%. *Her saving throws are between 5 and 6 points better, except versus spell which is the same as for a sirine. *Due to being equipped with 40 arrows of biting, rather than only 5, it is not as much likely for her to use the confusing and intelligence draining abilities which sirines do in melee combat. *Also, the queen will not hide behind the usual Improved Invisibility, but can cast her Dire Charm spell 4 times, compared to only 3 (Tales of the Sword Coast) or even 2 (Enhanced Edition) from her kin. It should also be mentioned that her creature type is not "monster", but "humanoid" instead. So, any equipment or spell with specific abilities related to these types will behave different depending on whether a sirine or their queen is affected. Notes * Rather than Improved Invisibility, which is the first spell cast by common members of her kin, the sirine queen has a Minor Globe of Invulnerability memorized. Unfortunately none of her scripts tells her how to use it. * Technically, her creature file has no gender defined; this is corrected in the Enhanced Edition. See also *Sil *Meiala References